Start Date

November 2016

End Date

November 2016

Location

HUB 302-1

Type of Presentation

Poster

Abstract

As dwindling federal funding continues to constrict the national space program, private entities have carried the torch of innovation in the aerospace industry. While the concept of hybrid rocket engines, systems where solid fuels and fluid oxiders are used for combustion, was conceived during the mid-20th century, the aerospace industry only recently has substantially increased research and development of these engines. According to the literature, hybrids are safer and cheaper than their liquid counterparts due to the utilization of solid fuel and generally provide greater values of specific impulse, density specific impulse, and fuel energy density than traditional solid-fuel engines. Private aerospace companies recently have demonstrated that reusable rockets are the future of rocket technology. Because of their reusability, applications of a hybrid engine can cater to low-payload cargo delivery to the increasing interest in space tourism and exploration. We aim to create a novel hybrid rocket engine design that integrates a scalable regenerative gaseous cooling system along the combustion chamber walls. Implementing this approach will prevent thermal-based nozzle degeneration and increase overall efficiency through increased heat absorption resulting from combustion chamber temperatures and pressures. Experiments using model-based computer simulations will be employed in addition to the use of finite element analysis and custom numerical models to explore the relationships between pressure fluctuations, mass flow rates, and engine performance. Preliminary investigation of oxidation in the copper-alloy liner due to the oxidizer interface will be physically conducted by subjecting a copper-alloy sample to a high-temperature flame while oxidizer flows across it. These empirical results will be compared and used to validate the accuracy of the initial computational models. Ultimately, this validation will allow for the successful design and manufacturing of an optimized hybrid rocket engine deploying a regenerative gaseous cooling system.

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As dwindling federal funding continues to constrict the national space program, private entities have carried the torch of innovation in the aerospace industry. While the concept of hybrid rocket engines, systems where solid fuels and fluid oxiders are used for combustion, was conceived during the mid-20th century, the aerospace industry only recently has substantially increased research and development of these engines. According to the literature, hybrids are safer and cheaper than their liquid counterparts due to the utilization of solid fuel and generally provide greater values of specific impulse, density specific impulse, and fuel energy density than traditional solid-fuel engines. Private aerospace companies recently have demonstrated that reusable rockets are the future of rocket technology. Because of their reusability, applications of a hybrid engine can cater to low-payload cargo delivery to the increasing interest in space tourism and exploration. We aim to create a novel hybrid rocket engine design that integrates a scalable regenerative gaseous cooling system along the combustion chamber walls. Implementing this approach will prevent thermal-based nozzle degeneration and increase overall efficiency through increased heat absorption resulting from combustion chamber temperatures and pressures. Experiments using model-based computer simulations will be employed in addition to the use of finite element analysis and custom numerical models to explore the relationships between pressure fluctuations, mass flow rates, and engine performance. Preliminary investigation of oxidation in the copper-alloy liner due to the oxidizer interface will be physically conducted by subjecting a copper-alloy sample to a high-temperature flame while oxidizer flows across it. These empirical results will be compared and used to validate the accuracy of the initial computational models. Ultimately, this validation will allow for the successful design and manufacturing of an optimized hybrid rocket engine deploying a regenerative gaseous cooling system.